Lendl's Adidas racquet specs

Did Ivan Lendl ever use lead tape in any of his racquets? I thought there was no customization to his racquets other than the pigskin suede leather grip. I found this interesting **** auction of one his racquet's used in an exhibition in 1990 as stated by the item description. Any helpful info will be appreciated.

lendl was very close friends with warren bosworth for a good part of his career, esp. the latter part, so i would guess his rackets were made custom from scratch and wouldn't require mods. someone else may know more about specifically which models warren made, and whether the link is or is not his work

Not long ago I got a copy of Lendl's match with Sampras in the 1990 US Open and as I remember, there was a little lead tape at the sides of his frames.

Ty, this mod is needed even on custom-made rackets to match them or to fine-tune them as a player's career moves along. I'd imagine it to be really tough to match sticks by just using the racket manufacturing process. Actually, I was surprised to see lead tape on Lendl's sticks. I had heard that he wasn't too picky at all regarding matching. So maybe Lendl was just looking for some extra stability against all the new players like Sampras? This adidas model was actually sold on the open market for a short while, so it's not exactly custom. Perhaps they wouldn't have made the model had Lendl not been around, but it was still sold to the public. Nevertheless, they happen to be a bit rare.

By the way, at best, I'd venture that that racket was restrung sometime after Lendl used it: it has a funky 16 x 19 string job. It should be 18 x 18. I don't remember Lendl's string pattern from the one match, but why would it be anything other than 18 x 18? All Kneissl and adidas frames that came from this same basic mold used a 18 x 18. I don't know why it would be restrung since, as stated, it has a crack in it, most likely put there by Lendl. Why cut out Lendl's own strings with his own ball fuzz on them? Also, what's with the white overgrip? Does anybody remember Lendl using one? At least through the 1990 US Open Lendl used his usual pigskin suede grips with no overgrips, just a kilo of sawdust. This racket is supposedly from an exhibition in 1990.

One of Lendl's Adidas racquets is exhibited at the Wimbledon Tennis Museum; he donated it to the Museum, presumably in disgust after losing one of his many finals there. It is loaded with lead at 3 and 9. The grip is a very soft looking ruffled leather, think it might be pigskin or something similar.

Also on display is a Sampras PS (also loaded with tape), a 200g donated by McEnroe (some lead but weirdly only in one place at the 3 position, or 9 depending how you look at the racquet), Navratlova's white Yonex, Connors T2000, Evert's PS, Borg's "Borg Pro Personal Model" (1980 onwards spec), and many others. Most have a broken string. Worth a visit if you are ever in London. you also get a tour of the Club and see all the "behind the scenes areas".

Wasn't Lendl with Mizuno in 1990? I know that for the first year or so he wore the Mizuno clothes and shoes and used an unstenciled adidas racquet. Mizuno then began making the Kneissl/Adidas mold of his frame (I assume they bought the mold) in a 90in model which was sold to the public. I am almost positive he signed with Mizuno before the 1990 Aussie Open but maybe it was '91. Tom Martinez would know for sure.

I think Lendl did sign with Mizuno before 1990 because I have a semi-final match on DVD with him defeating Yannick Noah at the AO ’90 and he was wearing all Mizuno gear with the unstenciled Adidas racquet.

lendl used 1/2 ounce of lead tape at 3 and 9 o clock on the racquets to = 14 oz total racquet. the racquet wasnt custom made but it was in a heavier weight (adidas racquets came in different weights L, LM, M, etc.) i think his was LM (light-medium). i dont think that **** racquet was one he used he would never use that grip tape. in the early 80's he usedthe suede pigskin grip then he switched to a gamma hi tech synthetic grip in green, blue or pink. finally i have one of lendls racquets and it has a different butt cap then that one

lendl used 1/2 ounce of lead tape at 3 and 9 o clock on the racquets to = 14 oz total racquet. the racquet wasnt custom made but it was in a heavier weight (adidas racquets came in different weights L, LM, M, etc.) i think his was LM (light-medium). i dont think that **** racquet was one he used he would never use that grip tape. in the early 80's he usedthe suede pigskin grip then he switched to a gamma hi tech synthetic grip in green, blue or pink. finally i have one of lendls racquets and it has a different butt cap then that one

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That's right! I think Lendl would have used the white butt cap with black stickers with white adidas logos. The one on auction is white sticker with black logos. I thought it might have been glare from a flash. I would not touch this racket with a 10" pole. Any real Lendl racket belongs in virtually a museum.

Actually the white sticker you are referring to is not a sticker but an engraved butt-cap logo painted black with some numbers below it. I figured this is a cosmetic difference between the racquet once available to the public and the ones Lendl used to play with. I have four Pro-Ts and they all have that same engraved butt-cap. I also have a GTX Pro but that one has the black sticker with white logo.

Sounds about right. After this thread I peeked at a Lendl/Sampras video from the 1990 US Open and it seemed Lendl had some unique butt cap decoration. My GTX Pro-T's all have a black sticker with white logos. One sticker is partically peeled revealing nothing but a solid-white butt cap. These all came from TW's Bosworth sale. Got any pictures of your butt caps? You actually have four of Lendl's rackets that he played?

Here are three butt-caps of the Adidas Lendl racquets. Two GTX Pro-Ts and one GTX Pro. These racquets were not used by Lendl, but racquets I have bought, used and acquired over the years. I have two more still in the shop getting restrung.

I have a couple of Ivan's actual MIZUNO frames (still in the Bosworth cellophane bag). 80sq in model as well as the special 90sq in for Wimbledon/Queens use. Willing to sell one (or two?) for a reasonable offer! Serious inquiries at racketcollector@aol.com